Inocente: How a Homeless Latina Became an Artist and the Star of an MTV Documentary

Even if you have plans on Friday night, you're going to want to pencil one more thing in--that's to set your DVR to a documentary called Inocente that'll be premiering on MTV. Why? I saw the trailer and thought her story was insanely inspiring--but after I got to talk to her...well, come read on, and see what I mean!

Inocente has been through a lot: she moved to the U.S. illegally in the first few years of her life, and since then, her father has been deported (after an incident where he almost beat her to death), leaving Inocente, her mother, and two brothers homeless (yes, whoa). She's lived in almost every shelter in the San Diego area, and her mom almost made the family jump off a bridge to end their suffering. With a brightly colored face, painted with her own designs, you'd never know her history--because instead of bumming out, Inocente turned to art.

When she was 15, a group of people came to her to participate in a documentary about the resilience of women around the world. They were so wowed by her story—I sure was—that they made a whole film on just her! Here's the trailer:

Inocente opened up to me about how she first turned to art, what she's doing now, and her hopes for the future—including to go to college and join the circus!

On getting involved with art:

"I was going to the Monarch school in San Diego. ARTS (A Reason to Survive) offered an after school program. It was about five years ago… We would do collages, painting, water colors. Painting was more my calling… Sometimes I recycle canvasses. There was a canvas that I added onto because I felt like adding onto it would be better than painting over it. I wouldn't like it if someone painted over my art…Kids really inspire me because when they paint they don't really care about mistakes. That's the way I paint. If I spill paint, I leave it as is."

On what it was like to have a movie made about her:

"It was very easy because all I had to do was be myself. The filmmaker and sound guys were really funny guys. We would go on adventures. We got to eat out a lot. It was really fun…We started filming in 2009. It took them about 2 years to complete. They would keep coming back to film some more... Now the documentary is out and getting awards… My favorite part was when they filmed me painting. I never saw myself paint. Even I was surprised. I never saw myself that way"

On what she's doing now:

"I took my GED a few months ago so I'm done with school. I'm still doing art. Four to five months ago I moved into a studio apartment. I came from home. I've been making art and selling it at shows I do through ARTS.

On finally moving out and living close to home:

"They actually live a few blocks away from me. They're doing really good. They're in an apartment and they have a dog. I can just walk down."

On her goals for the future:

"For the future, I would like to attend college once the documentary dies down. I'm trying to take all the opportunities that come with the documentary. I'm going to New York next week. I would like to study sign language because I think it's another art form. I went to a Devo concert and there was a spot where people who couldn't hear sat and someone signed to them. People who couldn't hear could still enjoy the concert. It was very inspiring. Another goal, I want to join the circus. I think it's really pretty. I think that it would be a really good experience. I would want to do it for a year—not a lifelong commitment. I like to dress up."